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A baby can only be born with sickle cell disease if both parents carry this disease (note that it is possible to carry the disease without having the symptoms). If both parents carry the gene for sickle cell disease then with each pregnancy there is a 1 in 4 chance that the baby will inherit this condition. Unfortunately I am not currently aware of anything the parents can do to change the likelihood of this.

So you have sickle cell trait but not sickle cell disease? I assume then that you were tested for this already and this is how you know you have this trait. Yes you are right; in cases like yours it is advised that the man is tested (via a blood test) before you start trying to conceive. This then gives you better information about the chance of a baby having sickle cell disease.